


Loved One

by inspirationcocoa



Category: Black Panther (2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 14:36:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13766223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inspirationcocoa/pseuds/inspirationcocoa
Summary: M'Baku has to decide whether to help T'Challa and put the Jabari in danger.





	Loved One

 

"Come with me Queen Mother." The woman guiding the queen was unassuming. Her red dress was simple and expertly wrapped. She wore a gold circlet around her neck and a patterned head wrap. She exuded a calming sense of comfort and Ramonda was glad for that comfort right now.  

“ _Enkosi sisi_ ,” Ramonda replied, following the younger woman down the hall. The hallways of the Jabari fortress were roughhewn, cut directly into the stone of the mountains. They were dimly lit but as they crossed from one part of the fortress to the other they would occasionally cut across a skyway connecting the mountains and come across breathtaking views of the sky around them. Ramonda was in awe of the view. No one had been to the Jabari lands in centuries and if it weren’t for the crisis that sent her and her daughter up the mountain to seek sactuary, Ramonda didn’t know if anyone from the royal family would have ventured here otherwise.

In the past two weeks, Ramonda had lost her husband, she’d thought she’d lost her son and at least for right now, she’d lost her kingdom. And now her children were going back to face a madman without an army.

 “If he would just send the Jabari with them,” Ramonda said to herself.

“What was that mama?” the girl asked stopping to turn towards the queen.

“M’Baku. He needs to send the Jabari army with T’Challa to fight Kilmonger.”

“I’m sure Lord M’Baku will do whatever he can to help T’Challa” When Ramonda sucked her teeth in disgust the woman continued. “I think you misunderstand the Jabari Queen Mother.” She turned and continued down the hall expecting the older woman to follow. “The Jabari have lived here in the mountains for centuries, honoring the gods and traditions of Wakanda. Hanuman, Bast, Thoth, Ptah, we keep their faith and hold their ways. We understand the importance of our heritage.

“We challenge the throne because no king should go unchallenged. We question progress because progress must always be checked by reason. The cold has taught the Jabari to have discipline, to value life, and to think when othr may act without thought. If we decide to fight alongside T’Challla, we will do so without hesitation and if the Jabari take up arms, we will give our lives until we win.”

The woman stopped in front of a red door at the end of the hallway. “You will be safe here Queen Mother. Please let us know what we can provide. It has been centuries since the Jabari have hosted a queen of Wakanda.”

Ramonda watched the woman as she walked away. Before she could turn the corner, a little boy came running around the bend and she scooped him up into her arms. “Eh, slow down little monkey. We have guests in the palace.” The little boy looked at the queen from over the woman’s shoulder. They walked back over to Ramonda. “Greet the queen,” the woman instructed and the boy knelt reverently.

“Hello Queen Mother,” he said formally, his tiny voice echoing in the hall. He couldn’t have been more than six or seven and his face was painted like the men who attended the ceremony

“Who are you child?,” the Queen Mother asked.

“I am M’Bede, son of M’Baku, the Great Gorilla” the little boy replied proudly. The woman smiled at him and laughed.

“You are a little monkey who needs a bath,” she said shooing him away.  “We will see you in the morning Queen Mother,” she said placing a hand on the older woman’s shoulder.

“I’m just trying to save my son,” Ramonda pleaded. "Surely you understand." She gazed at the little boy running down the hall. 

The woman smiled. “Everything will work out. You’ll see.”

 

* * *

 

M’Baku stepped down from his throne with a weary sigh. T’Challa and his little entourage minus the Queen Mother had just begun their trek down the mountain. Although T’Challa and his family had humbled themselves before him, M’Baku was still unsure about sending his people off to defend Wakanda against Kilmonger. If this usurper had the citizens and the Dora Milaje on his side, T’Challa and his comrades were almost certainly on a suicide mission. However, if he came to the deposed king’s aid and he was restored to his throne, the Jabari mught be able to take their rightful place in Wakanda. It was a gamble and M’Baku didn’t know if it was one he wanted to take.

 

He entered his chambers and set down his implements, rolling his neck to get the knots out of his neck. It was tiring looking imposing, though he chuckled to himself at the thought of that white man face when they hooted at him. He headed towards the private bath house that adjoined his rooms. The bath was cavernous, cut directly into the mountain like the other rooms of the palace. It was lit only by torchlight which threw shadows on the sandstone. The stone bath was cut into the ground with wide steps leading into the water. The spring that warmed the bath fed from a hot spring underground and M’Baku couldn’t wait to float into infinity. It was a privilege of his leadership that he enjoyed the most. 

“You look tired, my lord.” His head snapped up. She was sitting at the back of the cavern waiting amongst the shadows. Though he couldn’t see her face, he could hear the smile in her voice.

“ _Ach_ woman. Strangers in my home, wars being fought and now you wait here to mock me.”  

She bit her lip to keep from laughing as she walked over to him. “Oh Great Gorilla, please accept my humblest apologies”. She unlaced the ties of his fur collar and slid it off his shoulders. Then she took his face in her hands and looked him directly in the eyes. “You look tired, my love.” She pulled him down to her level placing a soft kiss on his lips. “Come relax with me. You are weary.”

He watched as she unwrapped her dress and head. Her hair was twisted into curled knots and he marveled at her body silhouetted in the torchlight before she slipped soundlessly into the warm water. M’Baku undressed and followed behind her. The water lapped gently as she swam to the far end of the pool, at his height the water skimmed the top of his chest and he sliced his way through the pool towards her bobbing figure. At the far end of the pool was a low, wide ledge and she sat there, waiting for him with her arms extended. “Come here. 

The sound of her voice was low and comforting and the warm water loosened the tension in his back and arms. He came to her laying his back against her chest and resting his head on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms and legs around his chest and he leaned into her softness. She rested her face in the crook of his neck, her lips grazing his ear. “What will you do?”

“Have I not done enough?” M’Baku replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

“You may have done enough, but have you done all you can do?”

“You have been talking with the Queen Mother,” he replied knowingly. 

“It does not matter who I have been talking to. I know you, husband.” She rocked him against her chest like a child. “You respect T’Challa. You like him.”

“He is a bother. He will get my men killed.”

“He is also the first king of Wakanda to visit the Jabari in centuries.”

“He arrived on the back of a fisherman’s cart. That is hardly a royal visit.”

“But if he succeeds.” She clicked her tongue. “He is a good man. And an honorable king.”

“He was defeated.”

“I remember besting a little boy in a fight when we were just children.” M’Baku chuckled at the memory. “You are not as hard as you pretend to be Great Gorilla.” He suddenly turned in her arms and she let out a whoop as he grabbed her thighs pulling her to the edge of the ledge.

“No more talk of the Panther.” He wrapped one arm around her waist pulling her against his chest. His mouth came down hard against hers. He was tired of talking about T’Challa and thinking about what to do. M’Baku wanted his wife.

The water splashed around them as he maneuvered them until her back was against the warm stone walls of the bath. She moaned against his mouth as he slipped inside her. M’Baku gripped her thigh with one hand while the other steadied them bracing against the wall. Her ankles locked around his back as he thrust into her, building a steady rhythm in time with his heart which was beating wildly. His lips moved down her neck placing open mouth kisses along her jawline. She gripped his shoulders, struggling to hold on as he sped up. M’Baku crushed her against the wall and when he came it was hard and gasping as he murmured her name deep in his chest.

M’Baku took a deep breath and steadied himself, holding her carefully as he came back to himself. The warm water flowed over their bodies, calming him. He placed a hand on the side of her face brushing the wet curls at her temple. “Did I hurt you?” he asked softly.

“Never,” she whispered. The cavern was darker now, the torchlights burning low around them. He pulled her back to the ledge and sat down, pulling her into his lap. He was still hard and she slid on top of him like a sigh. She put her hands on either side of his face, searching for his lips in the dim light. For some reason he couldn’t make sense of, tears fell from M’Baku’s eyes and she could taste the salty brine as she kissed his lips 

“You are a good man,” she whispered to him in the dark. “You are a good leader.” She rode him steadily and he held on to her body and words like a lifeline. He let her set the pace this time and soon they were both at the precipice again. And when she found her release, he followed right after, laying his head against her bosom.

“I will take the army in the morning.”

Goosebumps peppered their flesh as they headed to their bed. They lay side by side waiting for morning and she held his hand against her heart. “Take your army down the mountain and make sure you bring yourself back to me.”

 

* * *

 

When the fighting was done, she brought the Queen Mother down the mountain with a small caravan. By the time the two women had reached the palace, they were like old friends. The evening they arrived T’Challa had a feast prepared to welcome his mother and the Jabari. The queen mother walked her son over to introduce him to the woman she had become so fond of. 

“King T’Challa,” M’Baku greeted him warmly. “I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Thandiwe ***** ”

The king smiled, bowing slightly at the woman who looked every inch the loyal, loving warrior queen hehis mother had described. “Of course,” he said.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> *In Xhosa Thandiwe means 'loved one'. I tried to think of what kind of wife M'Baku would have and in my mind she was someone who is fiercely loyal, has a similar sense of humor and is deeply loving.


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